Matius 2:11

2:11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down ¹  and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, ²  and myrrh. ³ 

Matius 11:7

11:7 While they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness ⁴  to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁵ 

[2:11]  ¹ tn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[2:11]  ² sn Frankincense refers to the aromatic resin of certain trees, used as a sweet-smelling incense (L&N 6.212).

[2:11]  ³ sn Myrrh consisted of the aromatic resin of certain shrubs (L&N 6.208). It was used in preparing a corpse for burial.

[11:7]  ⁴ tn Or “desert.”

[11:7]  ⁵ tn There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?… No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.